Any Dean supporter has the courage to apologize for Dean on the flagup

[phirili]

[Castilleja]

1. I have the courage to say

that no apology is needed.

[SCliberal73]

11. no mea culpa

At the last Dean Meetup I attended, we discussed this very issue --- How to reach out to and include Southern white male voters. Racial and class divisions have been exploited by the ruling elite since the founding of America's earliest colonies to keep 'us' from uniting against 'them.'

Poor, working poor, lower middle class, middle class, even many upper middle class folks of all races are pawned off against each other and this flap over the Confederate flag is evidence of that dynamic.

Dean wasn't promoting slavery or the neo-Confederate movement.
Dean was attempting to unite working class people across racial lines against the corrupt regime in the WH.

There is no apology needed or necessary.

:kick:

[Zan_of_Texas]

2. I really doubt

whether anyone on this board has the authority to apologize for the statements of a presidential candidate.

Let us know if you do, anyone?

[LiberalTexan]

3. If he had apologized

I would have been very disappointed. Sharpton, Edwards, et al, tried to back Dean into a corner that had nothing to do with his original remarks and what they meant. They KNEW that the two had nothing to do with one another. They SAID they didn't believe he was a racist. So, why try to back him into a corner and get him to apologize (and look wrong) for something that he said and they wanted to act like they didn't understand?

They understood. And, so did Dean. I'm glad he didn't apologize. He did nothing wrong.

[MercutioATC]

4. I'm posting this a lot tonight, but only because there are sooooo many

people who have a difficult time understanding the concept. Here's the message (as I see it) that Dean is sending:

Southern voters who display the Confederate flag and southern black voters might be two groups that are percieved as diametrically opposed, but they share the same basic human needs; jobs, education and health care. The only way we can win is if we can get people of differing philosophies to stand together, realizing that their common needs and goals outweigh their differences. I want to be the candidate that speaks to these people.

Frankly, I see nothing for which to apologize.

[mbali]

10. Too bad he didn't say that.

The fact that he didn't means that what he actually said is open to interpretation. You interpreted it one way. Many others have interpreted it another.

[Cha]

5. I've been saying all along and I am glad to see I am on the

same wave length as Govenor Dean that he doesn't need to "apologize"!

Thank you Dean for standing up to those simpering sob demagogues!

[tedoll78]

6. I'll post my response again also.

Hooked on Phonics has some very nice products if you're having trouble reading the rest of Dean's statements during that speech. Your local community college might also offer courses in Reading Comprehension ("REE-ding COM-pre-HEN-shun").. seek them out, then read Dean's entire speech, and then come back to us.

Otherwise, it reeks of desperation. Multiple candidates attempting to do what one can't do alone.

[AngryYoungMan]

7. He shouldn't apologize, and here's why.

I'm a Dean supporter, and his comment didn't bother me. Let me try to explain why.

The pragmatism exhibited by the right wing is somewhat foreign to us liberals. As liberals, we believe in standing for principles. Liberals use tools like boycots, demonstrations, self-recusing, etc. to make sure that there's no "hypocricy" in their positions. This is, of course, commendable.

But it tends to weaken liberal initiatives. Conservatives, especially given their time "out in the cold" during the Clinton years, have become very pragmatic. Also, they don't mind using deceit to get what they want. If anything, they embrace it, since it doesn't violate their ethics. They think differently; lies are a means to an end.

Therefore, a conservative looks at an election and simply thinks, How can I get (or steal) the greatest number of votes? The fact that the voters in question don't actually agree with the candidates they're supporting doesn't bother those conservative candidates. If Bush runs claiming to be for something, and, in so doing, gets some votes, and then turns out to be against that thing...well, so what? It was "just politics." There's no immorality to making a bogus claim, in their view. "Nobody caught me; nobody stopped me." Like the way many people think about taxes.

So, Reagan went after Black voters, not because of any vested interest in Black issues, but simply to get elected.

In the end, to defeat these tactics, we have to be very hard-nosed. We're not giving up our principles; we're just being hard nosed. If Howard Dean looks at a bunch of rednecks with confederate flags and thinks, "How can I get their votes?" that's fine with me. If he says if out loud, again, fine with me. We all know Democratic governance helps those people more than Republicans ever will. Does this mean Dean is anti-Black, anti-Civil Rights, etc? Of course not. It simply means he's committing the "crime" of wanting the support of people whose views he doesn't share.

Republicans win elections by genuinely faking out the electorate. Dean isn't doing that. He's simply overlooking a moral lapse in order to serve the greater good. Anyway, that's how I see it. Anyone disagreeing is welcome to do so, as usual on DU.

[AnnabelLee]

8. Locking

Please see rule #4 here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=463744

4. If you wish to start a vanity thread (ie: a discussion thread in which the sole purpose is to share your personal opinion) you must state your opinion in a non-inflammatory manner which respects differences in opinion and facilitates actual discussion.

This is a vanity thread where no personal opinion is stated.

Thank you
AnnabelLee
DU Moderator

[w4rma]

9. Dean is absolutely correct, so there is absolutely no reason to. (n/t)